In Shadow He Hath Been Revived
by karkashan
Summary: “My, my. I have to admit, I did not expect to see you here, hero.” A different take on the final fight in Zelda 2. Oneshot.


In Shadow He Hath Been Revived

_This Fanfiction takes place immediatly following the slaying of the Thunderbird in Zelda 2: Adventure of Link_. _It should be noted that this is fan fiction, and therefore it should be treated as such. _

The repugnant smell of sulfur and charcoal mixed with blood and saltwater caused Link to cover his nose with the sleeve of his tunic. The great and powerful Thunderbird lay dying before him, its mockery of a human visage twisted in rage as its body was consumed by blue flames. Link gave a small shudder at the depth of hatred he saw directed towards him coming from those red and purple eyes.

Finding himself sickened by this horrifyingly painful and gruesome death, Link turned away and walked towards the chamber he had set out for in the beginning of his long journey. He set out to gain the Triforce of Courage in order to save those he cared about. He would revive the first Zelda, who would then cure his sister, also named Zelda, from the sickness she had gained while being held in captivity by the evil Lord of Darkness, Ganon.

He narrowed his eyes as his thoughts continued to wander. He would also save Sheik, the little fairy-like creature that had assisted him on this particular adventure. She had been injured during Link's fight with Knil Avon Krad, the Sage of Darkness who had been possessed by the spirit of an ancient traitor to the throne of Hyrule, a mage by the name of Aghanim. Krad had gotten the upper hand on Link, and was about to deliver the final blow when Sheik used her power to level the playing field.

She did this by banishing the spirit of the mage from the sage's body. However, when the sage had regained his senses, he thought Link was under the influence of the Dark Lord, and continued his attack in earnest. The fight dragged on for over twenty minutes before Link used the Thunder spell in desperation. It worked. Knil Avon Krad was brought low, and Link was given access to the final temple.

Before entering, Knil told him that he knew all along that Link was fighting on the side of the Goddesses, but told him that the reason he kept on fighting was to verify that Link had the skill, bravery, and magical talent necessary to defeat the Lord of False Hope, the mighty Thunderbird.

Link asked the sage why he was known as the Sage of Darkness. The elder man had replied that he was an immortal being the Goddesses had taken from the distant future so that he might make sure that further down the line the Devourer of Light would be slain by the Hero of Winds.

Link had left Sheik in Avon Krad's care, practically begging the sage to do whatever he could to save his companion's life. Krad agreed, and so Link set forth to slay the False Wish-Granter and recover the Triforce of Courage.

As he walked through the door that led to the final chamber, Link noticed that a kind looking old man stood next to the Triforce. The old man smiled and spoke, "O hero of the line of Kings, heir to the throne of Hyrule, youth who defeated the Lord of Darkness, I welcome thee. Thou hast been through many trials and tribulations, and have proven thyself worthy to use the power of the entirety of the sacred Triforce for the betterment of your fellow Hylian. Furthermore, I wish to inform thee that thou hast no reason to worry over the life of thy companion, Sheik. For although she seems damaged beyond repair, her real body lays in slumber as it always has, in that great palace of Northern Hyrule."

Link gasped, "You mean Sheik is really…"

The old man gave a toothy grin, "She's the Zelda you've been trying to wake up in order to help your sister Zelda." The old man waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "And don't worry boy, she was adopted into the royal family all those years ago, so there's no relation."

Link blushed scarlet, "What are you implying, you old fart!?"

Before the old man could reply, a horrifying screech came from behind Link. He tried to turn around and face it, but was impaled by a giant talon before he could do so. His eyes became as wide as saucers before they closed in pain when he coughed up blood.

The talon was wrenched from his body. The half rotting/burning not quite corpse of the Thunderbird moved past Link, holding the talon that had impaled the boy over an ebony vase that held nothing but ash.

Link heard a drip of blood fall down, and then the Thunderbird started to collapse in on itself, almost as if it were being drawn into some sort of miniaturized black hole phenomena. Within seconds it was gone, nothing left of it save a heart crystal. Link coughed up more blood before using his good arm to drag himself over to the crystal. As he did this, he was reminded of his first journey, in which he fought against the forces of Ganon in order to rescue his little sister Zelda.

"_Well done, little prince. It seems you are stronger than I gave you credit for. After all, a normal Hylian would never have been able to slay my pet drake, Aquamentes. However, you still have a long way to go if you want to kill me, little prince." _

Link rubbed his chest, trying to alleviate phantom pains that were caused by healing to fast using a heart crystal. That last attack had surprised both him and the caretaker of Courage. The old man had disappeared along with the Triforce of Courage, at least until Link made sure that the bird was truly dead. It had not been called the Lord of False Hope for no reason. Link stood up on his feet and was about to sheath his sword when he heard a dark and chilling laugh emanate from the darkness near the vase that held no plants.

"My, my. I have to admit, I did not expect to see _you_ here, hero."

Link spun around, only to come face to face with a shadow doppelganger of himself. Everything was the same, down to the smallest detail. The size of the shield in comparison to the body, the way the hat fit the head, even the gauntlets were exact in design. The only difference was the 'Link' that stood before him now seemed to be compromised of shadows.

The fake Link smirked and continued talking, "I mean, I thought you had enough fun last time a Zelda was in peril. I guess you really aren't that frightened boy anymore, are you? My little prince."

Link took a step back in shock and said, "It can't be…"

The Dark Link snapped his fingers, and an echo of Dark Magic caused the Great Palace to rumble in answer. Link steadied his hand, putting the sacred Master Sword in between him and the creature of shadow.

Link's doppelganger opened his hand, and the shadows and essences of darkness coalesced into a very familiar trident. When the evil being gripped it, however, the antithesis of the Master sword became similar in shape to that of the sacred blade.

Ganon fully revived and in the form of his hated enemy, smiled darkly and readied his blade, "Shall we dance then, little prince?"

Fin.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ...

AN: This here was just a little one-shot I decided to do, since although I would love to do a novelization of Zelda 2, I believe I should probably finish at least one or maybe two of my other fan fictions first. However, this idea I had for Zelda 2, especially this scene, wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to just go ahead and right it.

I wrote this on my new laptop while crouching down on my knees in a little over two hours. I did this while listening to an Ocremix called MetalGearSolidLegendoftheSnake2SnakeVersusDragon, by the remixer Rueben Kee. It's a really good Ocremix that I think people should download.

More information about my other stories will be added to my profile, so check there if you're wondering about the status of my other fan fictions.


End file.
